The photos weren't exactly glamour shots. Researchers snapped the pictures under normal (not particularly flattering) lighting. They also stuck little markers on the patients' skin to show the scale of their wrinkles.

Who Was Wrinkled?

A pair of dermatologists then reviewed the photos and rated the participants' facial wrinkles. They pored over the photos, gauging crow's feet lines around the eyes, along with wrinkles on the forehead, cheeks, and the rest of the face.

The dermatologists' ratings ranged from grade I ("essentially unwrinkled") to grade VI ("profound wrinkling over most of the face").

Most participants had little or no facial wrinkling, but 25 (nearly 17%) were wrinkled, write Patel and colleagues.

Of the 25 wrinkled participants, 21 had COPD, the researchers found. Overall, 68 of the 149 participants had COPD.

Compared with unwrinkled participants, those with wrinkles were more than eight times as likely to have COPD, the study shows. Wrinkles were also associated with lower scores on the forced exhalation test.

Wrinkled participants were on average slightly older than those with fewer facial lines. But adjusting for that fact -- and for sun exposure and sunscreen use -- didn't affect the results, the researchers say. Wrinkles were also associated with a history of heavier smoking.